


Soulmates

by lrhaboggle



Category: Wicked - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Anthology, Broadway, Cute, F/F, Fluffy, Gay, Gelphie, LGBT, Lesbian, Love, Musical, Oz - Freeform, Romance, Sad, Serious, Ship, Shipping, Shiz, Soulmates, Tumblr, angsty, love is love, otp, prompt, queer, soulmate, soulmate prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-13 14:05:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18470482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lrhaboggle/pseuds/lrhaboggle
Summary: Anthology of one-shots inspired by Soulmate prompts. Each chapter is based off a different prompt, but the endgame is always Gelphie.





	1. Soulmates

Elphaba knew about Soulmates, and she knew about how the first words that they would ever say to you were the words written on your wrist. She was still skeptical about the whole process, though, just because she couldn't imagine anyone ever finding it within themselves to love a green-skinned freak like her. Besides, the words on her wrist weren't exactly the most romantic or flattering words one could ever hope to hear: "This can't be happening!" No, Elphaba was pretty sure that the soulmates thing was all a hoax. Or at least, hers was. Quite honestly, she hoped to go her whole life without ever meeting her soulmate! Hers obviously couldn't be that loving of a person if "that can't be happening" would be their first words to her, though Elphaba couldn't exactly blame them...

Galinda had also heard about Soulmates, and she was just as skeptical as Elphaba. The words on her wrist weren't very flattering either: "There must be some mistake!" It horrified the young blond to think that her future lover (or anyone for that matter) would ever say something so terrible to her! Especially because she was so wonderful and amazing and gorgeous! She was no mistake! But unlike Elphaba, who wanted to make it through life without ever meeting her soulmate, Galinda actively sought out this mysterious person who would dare say such a mean thing to her. She hoped that, if she could find out who it was, she could make an active attempt to avoid ever falling in love with them so she didn't get saddled with a dud of a partner. Sadly, both girls' wishes were denied...

When Elphaba and Galinda discovered that they were to be roommates, they had both been repulsed by the idea.

"There must be some mistake!" Elphaba said icily, and Galinda's heart almost stopped. On impulse alone, she gave her own despairing cry.

"This can't be happening!" then it was Elphaba's turn to feel her heart stop in her chest. It was going to be a long year...

But if there was one lesson that the two should have learned, it was that life could sometimes take the most unexpected of routes. Against all odds, Elphaba and Galinda ended up becoming friends and, as the time rolled on, those friendly feelings started to develop into something more. Neither girl had ever been brave enough to tell the other about the words on her wrist, however, so a mutual pining started and the only way it stopped was through an accident. Galinda had been giving Elphaba a makeover when she accidently spilled some of her nail polish over her arm.

"What's that?" Elphaba asked as she watched Galinda clean her arm off.

"What's what?" Galinda asked, noting the surprise in Elphaba's voice.

"Your arm!" Elphaba replied and Galinda gave an embarrassed shriek when she realized that the concealer she usually wore on her arm had accidently come off when she scrubbed the nail polish away. With the concealer gone, Galinda's soulmate tattoo was finally visible to Elphaba.

"About that..." Galinda began shyly, but Elphaba only wordlessly rolled up her own sleeve in response. Now it was Galinda's turn to be astounded.

"Sooooo..." Elphaba began awkwardly. "Guess we're Soulmates, huh?" The rest of the evening was a little on the awkward sight.

By morning, however, the two felt much readier to deal with the situation at hand (or at wrist). They decided to give a relationship a try. They had already been falling in love with each other, so why not give it a go now that both of their wrists had finally confirmed that which they had already sort of known since the beginning of the year? But the only problem with finding a Soulmate in their world was that, on very rare occasions, after the Soulmates finally entered a relationship, the writing on their wrists would change. Instead of being the first thing that one Soulmate would hear the other say, the marking would become the last thing the Soulmate would ever hear the other say.

This was a rare thing and both of the girls had hoped to remain in that majority, but it was not to be. Instead, after finally acknowledging and accepting what they were to each other, both of their wrists changed, but neither girl ever confessed to the other that it had happened.

Elphaba's new markings said,"You've taken your own sweet time, of course."

Galinda's said, "Hide yourself! Hide!"

Elphaba had found her words to be confusing than worrying simply because they made no sense to her. Of course, though, these sorts of things never really made sense until the moment in question came to pass. Elphaba honestly could not decipher what this phrase was supposed to mean, nor was she able to figure what kind of situation Galinda would have to be in for these words to be used. A phrase like that gave no hints regarding the time or cause of death, but this particular remark seemed somewhat teasing, so it was Elphaba's hope that Galinda's passing would be a peaceful one. The same could not be said for Galinda.

Her words were far more explicitly unnerving. For that reason, Galinda lived in fear of the damning words written upon her wrist. Hide? Hide from what? And why would Elphaba ever need to give Galinda such a command? There was just something so violent about those words, it sounded like Elphaba's death would neither be easy nor painless. And Galinda didn't know what scared her more: the idea of only Elphaba dying in that situation, or both of them kicking the bucket together. What hurt her the most about such ominous words, however, was the simple fact of knowing that it would one day happen. One way or another, Elphaba would die a very violent death, and there was nothing Galinda could do.

For years, such fear lived on with both of the women until, at last, the words on Galinda's wrist were spoken.

"You must go, Glinda!" Elphaba pleaded with her Soulmate. Glinda tried to protest, but Elphaba simply cut her off. She pressed one last searing kiss to Glinda's lips before leaving to accept her fate. Right before she was gone, however, she cried out to Galinda one last time:

"Hide yourself! Hide!" and Glinda felt her heart stop. A minute later, Elphaba's did.

Glinda had never grieved quite so hard for anything or anyone in her whole entire life as she had when she lost her Soulmate. Elphaba was dead and gone. Now Glinda would spend the rest of her life alone. She almost wished she had died right alongside Elphaba after all. Sure, Glinda had known that this day was coming since college, but that didn't make its arrival any less bitter. Especially since they hadn't been together all that long. It had been Glinda's original hope that, even if she was going to be forced to lose her Soulmate too soon, that they would be able to enjoy what little time they did have together. Sadly, it was not to be. Less than a year after meeting Glinda, Elphaba had run away, deciding to join a rebellion against the leader of their country. For all of those years in between that moment and now, Glinda had been completely and utterly alone. But now, with Elphaba actually dead this time instead of just missing, that isolation was at an all-time high. The pain was unspeakable.

But despite being apart, the two Soulmates were always on the other's mind. Turns out, Elphaba wasn't dead after all. It had all only been an act, committed in order for her to escape Oz safely. She felt horrible for having to lie about this to Glinda, but she didn't dare tell the sweet little blond in case such information put her life at stake. Elphaba had spent the rest of her life hiding out in another world but, at long last, she finally returned to Oz. The separation had proven too great for her to handle forever. By the time she returned to Oz, however, Glinda was gone. Not dead, but certainly not in the place where Elphaba had last seen her. Instead, Glinda had gone through her own little rebellious streak and she was now, currently, sitting alone in a tiny little jail cell in the corner of Southstairs prison. Unlike all the other inmates, however, she felt happy, and free. She did not regret a single thing that had led to this arrest for her. Instead, even as she had begun to die, she could only smile. Then she heard her cell door screeching open. She already knew who it was that had opened the door for her. Her smile grew even wider.

"You wicked thing," she said. "You've taken your own sweet time of course."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: So here's the first of the Soulmate series, starting with the most famous one: their first words to you on your wrist. Also, yes, minor plot twist that we think that Glinda is the one who has to lose her Soulmate first. Actually, it's Elphaba. So the final words on Elphaba's wrist are the ones that mean death. For Glinda, the final words on her wrist only meant that Elphaba wouldn't get a chance to ever speak to her again. Still tragic, but not as fatal.


	2. Color

For all of her life, Elphaba had been told that she was different from everyone else. They said that her skin color was wrong. It was green. In the grand spectrum of skin tones, Elphaba's skin had no proper fit. But Elphaba could never quite confirm this because she could only see in grayscale. She would not be able to see in colors to be able to confirm these words until she found her Soulmate, but from what everyone was saying, she likely wouldn't ever find one because nobody would want a Soulmate that looked like her. All the normal folks, they said, had skin color that was brown or white or black or some color in between, but no one had anything quite so unnatural as green. To Elphaba, however, it did not look "green", it just looked grayish, like pretty much everyone else. But she wasn't foolish enough to think that this whole "green skin" thing was only a prank. She knew that the people must've been telling her the truth that she was different, and it was a truth she did not like to face.

"I suppose I will spend my life alone," Elphaba decided one day with a heavy sigh. The closest thing she had to a consolation was the realization that if she never found a Soulmate, she would never see color, and if she never saw color, she would never be forced to see just how different from everyone else she really looked. As a girl who could only see in black, white and gray, "green" was literally unfathomable to her, but from what she was hearing, green was bad, and she would've been fine if she never ever had to see the horrible color that corrupted her skin.

But, against all expectations, Elphaba did manage to meet her Soulmate, though the Soulmate was nothing like what she'd imagined. She had just enrolled into Shiz University and managed to get accepted in. In the middle of move-in day, Elphaba had been lugging her bags off the train and past the station into the campus. Along the way, some bratty girl, seated daintily on top of her luggage rolled past. Elphaba didn't see her at first, so busy trying to carry her own bags all by hand, but she could hear the girl's whiny, mean-spirited complaining.

"No! No! Don't go too fast or you'll mess up my hair!"

"Ok, come on now, don't be stupid, don't go this slow, or we'll never even make it to campus!"

"Woah! Hey! Careful! There's a bump!"

"Watch out for that mud puddle!"

"And do be careful! Some of my things are very valuable and highly breakable!"

"And hey! Didn't I just tell you? Don't jostle my luggage!"

"Gah! And don't jostle me either!"

Annoyed and amazed that one girl could be so impossible to please, Elphaba had finally looked up just to catch a glimpse of this snobby, snotty little brat. The moment she did, her world exploded into color. Once she realized what this meant, she half considered turning right around and throwing herself onto the train tracks. But she didn't. Though, half an hour later, when her Soulmate finally got a glimpse of her as well, she began to regret her decision to keep moving forward.

"Oh! Sweet Oz, NO!" she wailed when she got sight of Elphaba for the first time. And it was made even worse by the fact that the two were in the process of being roomed together. Life really did hate Elphaba, didn't it?

"Gee. Way to make me feel good about myself," Elphaba shot back, but Galinda was too busy freaking out to hear her.

From then on, Elphaba realized two things. One, her skin really was green. She had never doubted it but, when in grayscale, it hadn't looked too different from some of the other people Elphaba knew. Now that she could see color, though, she finally realized what they all meant when they said she had green skin. Two, the hatred Elphaba felt for her Soulmate was mutual. For the whole first part of first semester, it was nothing but a bunch of bad vibes all around. But then, life ended up changing once again, against all odds and expectations...

Through a party, a prank, an apology, a dance, and a makeover, Galinda and Elphaba started the rocky road to friendship and it was during that first night together that Galinda finally at least acknowledged that Elphaba was her Soulmate.

"Now that we're Soulmates, I've decided to make you my new project!" she had declared, and although it made Elphaba's heart soar to hear Galinda verbally calling her, her Soulmate, she had still been a bit skeptical about all of it. No one changed their mind that fast about a girl they had spent the past couple months loathing. But even if Galinda was only saying this because she was drunk, she had at least acknowledged what Elphaba was to her, and acknowledgement often preceded acceptance, so at least it was a start.

And sure enough, after enough time had passed, Galinda's mindset finally switched over from mere acknowledgement to full acceptance. She didn't just say that Elphaba was her Soulmate, she lived like it. She professed her love and adoration for the green girl and would stand up for her whenever anyone would make fun of her green skin. It was very unusual for Elphaba to be treated this way, but it was not at all unwelcome. Instead, Elphaba began to live as though Galinda were her Soulmate as well. She began to refer to Galinda with pet names and she often treated the little blond with far more warmth and affection than what anybody else in her life received. She began to smile and laugh for Galinda, and she would act physically affectionate with the little blond too, a definite sign that things were changing for both of them.

But what really bonded the two together were the colors! Sure, every Soulmate couple went through the experience, but that was part of what made the Soulmate bond so unique! Each experience was different! Because you needed to see your Soulmate in order to start seeing color, it was an intensely private, special and intimate experience, and getting to discover all of the colors that the world had to offer was considered the pinnacle of Soulmate bonding. Nothing was more intimate or personal between the two lovers than that, than exploring color. Even sex and kissing were placed on a lower rung. After all, you could have sex with, or kiss, anyone, but only your Soulmate would bring color into the world. That was what made it such a unique and powerful experience. And Elphaba and Galinda's experience, though pretty typical, was still very meaningful.

Galinda quickly grew to love colors and she adored sorting and comparing them, trying to figure out what color went best with what other color. Pinks were always her most favorite of all. Pink, itself, became her signature color. And then, alongside the Elphaba shade of green, Galinda created a very singular little catchphrase that pretty much summed up their entire relationship:

"Pink goes good with green!" and even though Elphaba, personally, disliked the color green and didn't like for it to be used as a symbol of who she was, she had to admit that Galinda's phrase was true enough that she eventually became willing to reconsider her stance on green.

Elphaba could only laugh at Galinda's love for fashion because, in her mind's eye, every color looked gorgeous on Galinda. But even so, fashion became one of Galinda's biggest passions (aside from Elphaba, of course). She was never unimpressed by the array of colors now available to her and her imagination. Some days, she'd even stop to just stare at the world and drink in its colors' majesty. How lucky she felt to have a Soulmate and no longer be stuck only seeing black and white! How rich and vibrant life was now for her!

Elphaba, personally, never found a favorite color. But color-coding and studying how light could change a color's shade interested her immensely. She preferred the more technical and physical aspects to light and color. How bold red seemed, how funny orange could be, how cheery yellow was, how mysterious and vast blue was, how rich and powerful purple was, and how steady and relaxing brown felt. Pink, of course, was lighthearted and sweet. And green? Well. Elphaba had to admit that green, as a color, could be quite nice. There was something very rich and lively about it. To Elphaba, every color had a story, and she adored them all. Her favorite part about them, though, was getting to explore all those different stories with Galinda at her side. She really was so lucky to have a Soulmate who filled her life with so much color! There was just so much to see and explore in the world of color and it was made all the better by the fact that she had someone who could share the fun with her.

Years later, Elphaba and Galinda were wed, and they moved into the Emerald City together. For a good while, life seemed perfect. Every day was a new adventure, full of more colors to discover, explore and fall in love with. But then came the very first signs of tension within Oz.

"The Wizard is taking away Animal Rights!" Elphaba cried angrily as she read the newspaper over breakfast one day. Though this issue had been on the horizon for years now, it seemed that the Wizard was finally going ahead and creating bans upon what Animals could and couldn't do.

"Well, what can we do about it?" Galinda asked. She knew her wife well enough to know that she was already planning something...

"We start an Animal Rights Program," the green woman replied as though it were obvious. Just like Galinda thought.

"It won't be easy," she warned. It would indeed take lots of strength and bravery to join a resistance or begin a movement.

"Well, we've got the rest of our lives to try," Elphaba replied with a shrug. Thus began the noble campaign.

Over the next few years, their campaign went well enough. It was, indeed, very hard and risky, but it was also actually kind of fun. One of Galinda's favorite memories (and Elphaba's too, although she wouldn't admit it) had been of a rather strange, but successful, protest of sorts. It had taken place deep within the Emerald City, closer to the slums, and Elphaba had been busy trying to rile up the masses to finally raises their voices against the injustices going on around them instead of just accepting them as natural ways of life. It was a very persuasive speech. The only problem was, Elphaba had been dead drunk. Yeah. That was right. The great and mighty Elphaba, the stoic and disdainful green girl, had been flat-out trashed. Wasted. Slammed. Hammered. Or whatever else word there was to describe someone who was really, really, really, really drunk.

Galinda still wasn't even quite sure how Elphaba had gotten so totally liquored up. All she knew was that she had spent a good 30 minutes watching Elphaba stand on some rickety old stage and scream wildly at the crowd of onlookers below. They were just as trashed as she was.

"This poor, innocent Cow has been forced to give up her milk, and her calves, to slake the bloodlust of her wicked masters!" Elphaba slurred loudly. The crowd cried out in horror.

"I agree!" she roared. " So now, let's hear it for the cow! Moo. Moo! MOO! MOOOOOOO!"

Elphaba had begun to moo loudly, but she was dead serious too. This wasn't supposed to be funny. But that was the funniest thing of all. Everyone else got so swept up in the moment that they began to moo too. Soon, the entire crowd was scream-mooing.

"COME ON!" Elphaba bellowed. "MOO WITH ME! MOO WITH ME! MOOOOOOOOOO!" it was a night Galinda never let Elphaba forget, even though the green girl had most definitely wanted to once all the alcohol was back out of her system.

But life wasn't only good work, good progress and good times. There were a lot of setbacks, hold ups and general roadblocks that came with this sort of campaign. The worst, though, happened on one of the most normal and sunny of summer days. Galinda had been busy working to get another Animal rally set up when her world began to flicker. No. Not the world. The colors. For a moment, Galinda did not understand, but then she began to worry. If colors came into someone's life when they met their Soulmate, would those colors ever leave if the Soulmate died?

Before Galinda knew it, she was off and hunting for Elphaba. She hit the downtown area of the city only to be met with a mass of carnage. A skirmish must've occurred and, likely, the police would've come in to settle it, but everyone knew that in times like these, and in situations like this, the police often did more harm than good. What probably began as a protest taken too far was likely to have morphed out into a riot, which would've then turned into a police fight, which then would explain all the death and blood littering the city streets. Galinda felt her heart beat all the faster as she ran through the rows and rows bodies. Just when Galinda began to despair, she saw a corpse with a green tint to its skin...

"Elphie!?" Galinda whimpered as she rolled the body over. It had a green face, but the color was fading fast.

"Galinda?..." Elphaba gasped feebly. Galinda noticed a huge gnash on Elphaba's side.

"Elphie?" she gasped, covering her mouth in horror.

"Yeah, Gale Force fight. We won though," she explained, giving a weak smile, as though the last part of her sentence would cheer Galinda up. Instead, it only did the opposite and, at one point, Elphaba began to convulse, entering her death throes. This sent Galinda into a panic and she clung to Elphaba's body even tighter.

"Oh! Elphie! You're trembling!" she murmured, just because she didn't know what else to say at a time like this. She tried to remove some of her own clothing to at least create a makeshift bandage for the gnash in Elphaba's side, but Elphaba wouldn't let her.

"Don't," Elphaba groaned, pushing Galinda's clothing away. "Too late. No help. Lost blood," Elphaba's voice grew softer and shallower as more blood flowed from her wound. Galinda tried to protest, but she knew Elphaba was right. The odds of her survival were already low, and now, having committed such a crime as a riot against the police, the life she might manage have after she recovered wouldn't be much better.

Elphaba was right. It was too late. So, with great reluctance, Galinda only buried her face in Elphaba's thick, dark locks and continued to kiss and caress her. A few more ragged breaths later, all fell silent. Galinda shut her eyes in pain and when she opened them again, the world was a dull black and white once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: So here's the "seeing colors when they live" and "losing colors when they die" AU. Also, yeah, random Rent reference in the middle, because why not? LOL.


	3. Time Was Ticking

Elphaba stared down at the little piece of plastic embedded in her arm. Time was ticking. And it had been ever since the very first second the spark of life had entered her tiny little body. This little timer was something that every Ozian had, and like Elphaba, they were born with it. It was a device that counted down the time, to the very second, until they met their Soulmate. The green girl rubbed that lump of plastic in her arm with a nervous smile. That tiny square, its glowing red numbers peeking through her emerald flesh, gave her hope. It gave her hope that, someday, she would indeed find love. Despite the fact that, right now, she was pretty much despised by everyone for her skin color, the fact that time was ticking on her little Soulmate watch meant that she wouldn't stay this was forever. Time was ticking.

The thought excited her, but it also kind of scared her. Who in Oz could possibly be her Soulmate if everyone she ever met ran away in horror because of her green skin? And she had heard horror stories of people's timers running out, only for them to be standing alone. Often, this signaled that their Soulmate was already dead, and this had been the last place they ever stood before expiring. It was Elphaba's fear that when her timer went off, she would find herself staring at a grave. But time was ticking so clearly that Elphaba couldn't help but feel optimistic. There had to be someone out there meant for her! She just needed to wait. 3 years, 1 month, 17 days, 6 hours, 38 minutes and 26 seconds. Time was ticking.

Miles across Oz, another young woman stared down at her own Soulmate timer with the same about of awe and excitement that Elphaba had. This girl was the aristocratic Galinda Arduenna-Upland (of the Upper Uplands), and she was just as keen about meeting her Soulmate as everyone else she knew. It was always such a thrill for her, imagining what handsome prince life would bestow upon her. She never ceased to dream about a beautiful strange, long, tan and handsome hero, coming to sweep her off her feet and take her to his castle to make her his queen. She already liked to joke to her fellow schoolgirl friends about what her Soulmate might look like and be like, and they would respond with fantasies equally as wild. Perhaps he would be a king. Or a wizard. Or a nobleman. Or a businessman. Or some variation of all of those! The thought made Galinda and all of her friends melt with excitement. Galinda could only sigh dreamily, now, as she stared at her little Soulmate timer. Time was ticking. 3 years, 1 month, 17 days, 6 hours, 38 minutes and 26 seconds. Time was ticking.

Then, 10 years, 1 month, 17 days, 6 hours, 35 minutes and 0 seconds later, Elphaba found herself standing at the iron gates of Shiz University. She was far too excited at the prospect of just being here, with people who were supposedly far more open-minded than the bullies she was leaving at her small town back home, to realize that her Soulmate timer was telling her that she only had 3 minutes and 26 seconds left until she would see her Soulmate for the very first time. Instead, all she could focus on was the sprawling school in front of her. But even though her timer was being ignored by her, time was ticking.

At the same time, another girl had made her arrival to Shiz as well. It was Galinda. She was rolled in on her luggage, a band of busboys obediently pushing her and all of her shiny trinkets along the path. Perched daintily atop those many boxes and bags, Galinda was smiling and waving like a queen. Her golden curls were pressed just so, her face was flawless and smooth, her white uniform was crisp and clean. Every little trait, however small, was completely perfect! She looked like an angel. A goddess! And she greeted all of her astounded onlookers with a regal, benevolent wave of her dainty, gloved hand. She flashed them a dazzling smile of pearly teeth and pink lips, and sometimes, she'd even give a toss-toss of her golden curls. At one point, someone blew her an eager kiss, which she pretended to catch. She looked down demurely. In doing so, she caught a glimpse of her timer. Oooh, 1 minute and 47 seconds left! Eager, Galinda inhaled sharply before looking hopefully to some of the prettier boys in the area as she mentally counted down. Time was ticking!

At the same time, Elphaba moved deeper and deeper into Shiz, still awed by all the majesty of the school's buildings. She was hardly aware of how disgusted students made way for the ugly, poverty-stricken, green freak that passed them by. Instead, she was far too glad to be here to care what anybody else thought right now. Elphaba was also still ignorant to her timer and how it said she had 57 seconds left.

Galinda kept counting, blue eyes glued to one handsome young lad in particular. She dared to glance down at her timer. She was right on the beat. 8 seconds, 7 seconds, 6 seconds, 5 seconds... Time was ticking!

"Oh my Oz! What the heck is that?!" a shrill voice screamed. Galinda, in surprise, whipped her head around, away from the handsome boy, and to the one that had caused such a stir in the distance. It was... a girl with... green skin?! She did not seem to hear the other student's cry of horror, eyes wide with amazement as she kept moving right along. Then she caught sight of Galinda, perched to gracefully upon her suitcases. She gave the blond an amazed and interested look. Suddenly, Galinda felt her arm vibrate. She turned away from the strange green girl to check her Soulmate timer. 00:00:00. Galinda looked back to the green girl after that, eye twitching. And now disbelief was written upon the green girl's face as well as she looked down at her timer only to look back up at Galinda a second later with a stunned expression.

Time was not ticking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Now we've got the Timer AU.


	4. That Name

Galinda stared down at the sharp signature scrawled upon on her arm. It was the name of her Soulmate. And what was that name? Elphaba Thropp. Once Galinda was finally old enough to fully understand what that name could mean for her, she took immense pride and pleasure in it. Of all the people in the world that were destined to be her Soulmate, it happened to be someone else of equal status as her! Oh yes, the Thropps were the leaders of Munchkindland. The title was "Eminent Thropp" and the whole family held a great deal of power over in the east. It made Galinda's heart flutter with exactment to think her Soulmate was to hold such a powerful and prestigious position in life. And Galinda's own family was not too shabby either. Though they were not exactly the leaders of the Gillikin country up north, they were a very renowned family nonetheless and Galinda was quite excited by the idea of having these two powerful bloodlines meet under a holy matrimony.

But at the same time, there was still a sliver of doubt in Galinda's mind about all this. Not much was ever really said about the Thropp family anymore, and Galinda had been able to find little in the research she conducted. She did not recognize the name 'Elphaba', and yet clearly such a person existed, or the name would've have been emblazoned on Galinda's skin. Yet she could find nothing, not even a little picture or description, to tell her what her Soulmate looked like, or would be like. Elphaba was in next line for the Eminence, but that was about all anyone knew about her. Everything else was very shady. The Thropps must've been a quiet bunch. This both impressed and annoyed Galinda terribly.

Meanwhile, Elphaba herself was studying the fancy, loopy script written upon her own arm. The name was a long, fancy one: Galinda Arduenna-Upland. And Elphaba could only scoff. She may not have really recognized the name, but she knew that the Arduennas were a rather snobby lot who lived up in the northern area of Oz. They were rich and powerful, and they relished the fame and fortune that came with such a great and noble distinction. That was all Elphaba knew about any of them, but that was all she (thought she) needed to know in order to be able to honestly say that she did NOT want her Soulmate. Surely no one good or understanding could come from such a shallow, sheltered family! In fact, Elphaba was certain that even if the name on her arm was true, this poor Galinda girl was probably blind anyway. That could be the only explanation as to how, or why, someone like her, an Arudenna, would ever fall in love with a green-skinned weirdo like Elphaba.

Years later, Galinda and Elphaba had both been admitted into Shiz University. They were both just so excited to be there that neither of them considered trying to find their Soulmate amongst the countless others in the student body. At least not yet, anyway. First, they just wanted to explore their new home and get set up. Unfortunately, that did not go over too well for any of them. Galinda had requested a fancy room, but due to a conflict and a mistake, she was left dormless.

The headmistress of Shiz, Madam Morrible, had just finished giving out room assignments when she realized that there were still two more students who hadn't been given a proper room yet. One was a prissy little princess with stupid hair, and the other was a green-skinned girl with a face like a sour, green apple. Morrible paired them up at once. This received an immediate negative reaction from both parties, but that only made Madam Morrible all the happier, and she pretty much forced the two girls to suck it up and deal with each other. The little blond pouted and turned to her new roommate in disgust. The green girl glared back with equal disdain. Madam Morrible found it all very amusing.

Too ruffled for fineries or introductions, the two girls parted ways as soon as they could and they tried to remain apart for as long as possible. In the end, however, they were forced to meet up again as they moved all of their things into their new, shared, dorm. Neither girl spoke a word to the other, only casting dirty glares when they weren't busy blatantly ignoring each other. Morrible happened to walk on by while all this was transpiring. She poked her head into their dorm with that sadistic little smile still emblazoned on her fat, fishy face.

"I am soooo glad to see you girls are getting settled in so well!" she gushed, voice low and rumbly. Neither girl acknowledged her.

"Oh well," she shrugged, unbothered by their stubbornness. "I only stopped by to hand you these extra papers," she held up two folders. One was green, and the other was the ugliest shade of brown in the universe.

"They are roommate agreement forms. Please fill them out and hand them back to me by the end of the week! Cheerio!" her voice held all the false cheer of a teacher whose main source of happiness came from torturing her students.

Morrible handed Elphaba the green folder and Galinda the ugly brown one. Both of the girls blanched in anger and disgust.

"Here you are, Ms. Elphaba Thropp," she said. "And then here you are, Ms. Galinda Arduenna-Upland. I do hope you have a splendid rest of your evening! Ta-ta!" then, with a wave of her long, pointy, manicured nails, the giant beast of a woman tottered back out of the dorm. This was going to be such a fun year! But while Elphaba continued to glare at the doorway, Galinda only felt her eye begin to twitch as she rubbed her wrist...

ooo

Lady Glinda had a bad night, a night of shakes and regret and pain; she guessed it was the early signs of gout from her rich diet. But she sat up half the night and lit a candle in a window, for reasons she couldn't articulate. The moon passed overhead in its path from the Vinkus, and she felt its accusatory spotlight, and moved back from the tall windows. Pacing her fancy room with pent up emotions she couldn't release or quite comprehend, she felt her wrist begin to burn. She scratched at it slightly and the burn died down at once. Curious, confused, and just looking for a distraction from the accusatory glare of the moon, she rolled up her sleeve to look down at her wrist. And there it was. That name. Just like it had been for so many years before. Only this time, it was illegible. Its pointy script had become faded and runny and somehow, Glinda knew at once that Elphaba Thropp was no more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Here's the "name on the wrist" AU. I fully believe Elphaba has a very jagged signature while Glinda's is super loopy. And yes, I threw in a corny add-on ending where, after Elphaba dies, the name smudges off of Glinda's wrist slightly.


	5. Telepathic Link

_Elphie, I'm really bored!_ a high-pitched whine echoed in the green girl's brain.

 _Well, Galinda, sadly, I cannot do anything to remedy your situation. You're just gonna have to grin and bear it._ Elphaba deadpanned back telepathically. She felt a small gust of air hiss across her brain and she knew that her Soulmate had just huffed in annoyance. Then, a sort of static feeling wrapped around Elphaba's head and, when it lifted, so did her brief connection to her Soulmate. Elphaba couldn't stop a chuckle. The girl who had become her Soulmate was most definitely the last person she would've ever expected, but here they were. Somehow, Elphaba had caught Galinda's pretty blue eyes and, after a period of loathing, the two became friends. Then, they became more than that. But they had discovered the Soulmates thing quite on accident.

It had only been about a week after they had become friends and the two had opened up to each other quiet thoroughly. And they opened up in more ways than just the verbal. Galinda had, at one point, stubbed her toe while getting up from her desk in class. Elphaba, who had been all the way back in their dorm and reading at the time, suddenly sat up with a yelp as she felt a sharp pain in her toe. The very same one Galinda had just stubbed. Because Elphaba hadn't realized this, however, and because there appeared to be no real cause of that random surge pain, she could only shrug it off, puzzled, but not too concerned. Maybe it was just a toe cramp? Either way, it didn't take her too long to forget about it.

Then, only about a day later, it was Galinda's turn to experience something.

"Hey! Galinda! What happened?!" it was Boq who noticed first, having been staring at Galinda all class.

"What? What?!" Galinda demanded, turning to the Munchkin in surprise and being quite worried to see how distressed he looked.

"Your arm, Ms. Galinda! You're bleeding!" then he hopped at once with a valiant expression on. "I'll get you a first aid kit!"

"Oh, no, no, no, no, that won't be necessary!" Galinda said quickly, urging Boq to calm down and knock it off. He still didn't seem to get it that they weren't Soulmates. Maybe neither of them had found theirs yet, but Galinda was certain it wasn't Boq, Boq seemed somewhat hurt by Galinda demanding that he _not_ help her, but all she needed to do was flash him a charming smile and he sat back down at once. At least his sickening infatuation meant he pretty much did anything and everything Galinda asked him to.

But then Galinda finally took the time to actually look down at her arm. There was a small nick in it and, as Boq had pointed out, it was bleeding. But how? Why? She hadn't moved at all during this whole stupid, boring lecture. Why had she randomly started bleeding? Funniest of all, though, it didn't hurt. She hadn't even realized... But in other Shiz building entirely, Elphaba certainly did.

"Stupid test tubes!" the green girl hissed in pain as she clutched a bloody arm. One of her little lab experiments had exploded, sending some of the glass shards of her test tube into her arm. It wasn't too bad, but it still stung and she was bleeding a fair bit. Dr. Dillamond sent Elphaba to the nurse at once, but in only about 10 minutes, all was well again. It certainly had made for a funny story to tell Galinda later, though. And Galinda had been able to give her a similarly humorous tale about how she'd randomly stated bleeding in class, only for Boq to come in and try to "save" her.

But the incident that finally got Elphaba and Galinda to realize that they were Soulmates happened when Galinda was complaining to herself about history class. Even though she was in the lecture hall and Elphaba in the dorm, Elphaba heard her as plain as day. What?

 _Ugh, I hate history! It makes no sense! I wish Elphie were here._ Elphaba shook her head in surprise. What in Oz? Was that Galinda? And why did it sound like Galinda was speaking inside of her head? Elphaba paused for a moment, busy thinking up a reply, then, she tried to speak it.

 _Galinda? Is that you? Did you just hex me or something? I thought I heard you, whining about history,_ the green girl thought. Suddenly, she felt a jolt, as though she had been shocked into alertness. Galinda, Elphaba realized, must've heard the message and responded in a literal shock.

 _Yes! That was me!_ She said telepathically. _And I just got your reply. But how?_

It was after that event that the two realized that they were telepathically linked. It was something that only happened between Soulmates.

"But why did it take so long?" Galinda asked after she and Elphaba finally figured it out.

"Perhaps it was because we spent so much of our early days shutting each other out," Elphaba suggested.

"But that still doesn't explain why it took so long to get the telepathy links after our friendship formed," Galinda argued.

"Well, who knows?" Elphaba shrugged back, having no more answers than her new Soulmate did. But then, a lightbulb went off in Galinda's mind, and Elphaba even felt a tiny jolt as though an idea had come to her as well, though she didn't know what that idea was until Galinda spoke it.

"What if we did?" she began. "What if we actually had already been using out telepathy link and we just never realized it until now?" then she reminded Elphaba about the day they had both accidently hurt their arms in class.

"But that left a physical mark on you. How could that-?" Elphaba began.

"Well, I've heard it said that sometimes, Soulmates can also sort of share a physical bond as well. Like, they can sacrifice a bit of their own health to help the other Soulmate heal better. Maybe that was what happened that day?" the little blond suggested. "Even though your injury wasn't too bad, maybe it had come as enough of a shock to you that it registered as being bad and, like a reflex, that was when I stepped in?" she explained. And although it sounded silly, it made sense. Elphaba nodded slowly, and then recounted the moment when she had felt that sharp pain in her toe.

"Maybe you stubbed your toe when it happened?" Elphaba suggested. "I know it's a far cry, but maybe that was another example of our link?"

"Only one way to find out," Galinda replied, then she intentionally kicked the edge of her bed as hard as she could.

"Ouch!" Elphaba yelped, clutching her toe.

"Woah!" Galinda replied with a huge smile.

From then on, the two used their telepathic link constantly. It was something all Soulmates did once they first found out who their other half was going to be. There was a certain sort of thrill that came with having such a personal, private linkage. All new Soulmates reveled in their newfound ability to communicate, without words, to their significant other. And it was made all the more fun just because it was so intimate and individual. It was a bond they could share with no one else in the whole world. It was a language literally only they could ever speak. It was why Soulmates always seemed to know what was on each other's minds. Because they did. Literally.

Now it was Elphaba and Galinda's turn to cash in on some of that fun and, boy, did they ever! It was tough work to do consciously, but after enough practice, they were able to carry on telepathic conversations from across campus. Elphaba could be in the science building and Galinda in the history building and they would be able to carry on a full conversation. And they had the complete power to turn this communication on and off, so there was no more accidental intrusions when one thought about the other (which happened with increasing frequency after they realized that they were Soulmates).

In time, too, they learned how to control the more physical aspects of their bond, and they didn't just share words anymore, but emotions as well. At one point in time, some of the crueler Shiz students had been making fun of Elphaba for her green skin, demanding that she go back to whatever swamp she'd crawled out of, but even though the insults were pretty typical, they struck Elphaba harder that day than most. Galinda was the first to realize this when, without warning, she suddenly began to cry. Then she felt a dull sadness aching in her heart. About 10 minutes later, Elphaba appeared in their dorm's doorway, looking like she was about to break. It didn't take long for Galinda to put two and two together.

And, as with the verbal telepathy, it was a mutual thing. So, in time, whenever one girl would start to feel sad for no real reason, they would instantly try to make themselves feel as warm, loving, caring, comforting and happy as possible, with hopes that the good vibes would travel along their telepathic link to cheer the other, downtrodden girl up. It worked every time. So whenever Galinda would feel annoyed or defeated, all she had to do was think about Elphaba, then a wave of reassurance would wash over her. And whenever Elphaba felt sad or lonely, all she had to do was think about Galinda, then Galinda would literally send good, happy vibes her way until she was smiling again.

And then, the two girls realized that they could even share visions with each other. It was no longer just their own personal words, or vague emotions. They could also force each other to see whatever they wanted to. That type of communication was the hardest to master, but definitely the coolest. If one girl could focus hard enough on her experience and imagine that her Soulmate was seeing it too, the other Soulmate would get hazy, but steady and detailed, images of what the first Soulmate was seeing.

For example, one day, Galinda had found a dress that she thought might've looked halfway decent with Elphaba's green skin. Focusing hard on the dress, she studied every little detail on it and imagined that Elphaba would be able to see it. Slowly but surely, then, a vague outline appeared in Elphaba's mind and, the longer and harder Galinda focused, the more bright and clear the image became. Once she realized what Galinda was showing to her, however, she responded immediately.

 _No._ But hey, at least this proved that Galinda's telepathy was improving.

But then there came a day when their telepathic link began to fray away and, this time, it was not so easily repaired. Because the telepathic links required so much time and effort to control, all it took was a few days away from the art, or a fight in which one Soulmate would try to shut the other one out, to cause a relapse in telepathic ability. Galinda and Elphaba were forced to discover this every time they had an argument and tried to keep the other from telepathically talking to them or trying to share emotions or memories. After these fights, it would always take about a week or so to get their link back to the way it was before the fight. But that was the thing, usually, they always managed to bring everything back to normal eventually. This time, however, their link continued to decay, and this time, they weren't able to fix it. So, like a muscle no longer being used or exercised daily, it grew weak and neglected.

And all of this happened because Elphaba had taken a very public stand against the leader of Oz. This stand had forced her to go into hiding, fleeing from the leader, the Wizard, that very day. But Glinda, out of fear, had chosen to stay behind. In all the years of their separation, they found it harder and harder to communicate, even though telepathy, just because they were so physically far apart and never got back together again. Back at Shiz, the greatest distance that every stood between them was one college campus. Now, half the country separated them, and even they, strong as they were, weren't able to bridge a gap that wide that easily. Slowly but surely, their ability to send conscious messages, feelings and visions ceased, but their subconscious minds would still occasionally kick in, just like back when they first discovered their link.

The first instance of this had happened while Elphaba was slinking around her lonely castle in the west, Kiamo Ko. She had been busy, focused on training her legion of flying monkeys, when a sudden wave of loneliness, isolation and despair practically swept her off her feet, leaving her gasping out in sobs. She didn't know what triggered such a lonely and grieving response within her just because she hadn't been feeling very lonely that day, but if she had known, she would've realized that it was Glinda. The Soulmate, whom she hadn't seen or spoken to in almost a year, was the cause of this sudden, inexplicable grief. She had been, at the moment, crying her heart out in the safety and secrecy of her royal bedchambers in the Emerald City palace.

Then, about a week later, roles were reversed. Glinda woke up with a sharp pain piercing her left leg and when she looked down, both of her legs were covered in an array of cuts and bruises that she didn't remember ever obtaining, but when the doctors came in to take a look, they could find nothing seriously wrong.

"What do you mean nothing's wrong?!" Glinda hissed through her pain. "I feel like there's something sharp lodged in my leg!"

"But there isn't!" the doctors pleaded. "We can't find anything! No foreign object, no twisted nerve, nothing the matter with your bones or muscles. Nothing!" and Glinda had been forced to let it go. Upon this day, Elphaba had fallen from her flying broomstick while taking a turn a bit too hard and a bit too fast. She broke her leg. That had been the sharp pain Glinda felt. And all the random scrapes were from the rest of Elphaba's fall.

So for years, these occasional and strange injuries and emotions continued to plague the two girls, yet neither of them ever understood what caused them. They'd almost entirely forgotten about their old telepathic link just because it had been out of commission for so long. But then at last, something powerful enough did manage to bring that bond back, even if only for a little while.

The Wizard of Oz had finally grown tired of Elphaba constantly trying to undermine and destroy his rule. Because of that, he finally took the initiative to send assassins out after her. After hearing this, Glinda wasted no time in throwing all caution to the wind and heading west as fast as she could to warn Elphaba of the on-coming attack. Even though the two hadn't been on good terms in years and years now, Glinda still loved Elphaba dearly enough that she was willing to risk life, limb and legacy if it meant the chance of helping the green girl to escape with her own life.

"They're coming for you!" Glinda warned as she barged into Elphaba's castle.

"Let them," Elphaba replied darkly.

"No! I'll go and tell everybody you're innocent!" Glinda insisted again.

"They'll only turn against you!" Elphaba protested.

"I don't care!" Glinda snapped, the stress of all of these years finally spilling out in angry tears and desperate words to Elphaba.

"Well I do!" Elphaba shot back, sounding just as tired and frightened as Glinda did.

Their eyes met in that moment and, suddenly, so did their souls. After years of hurt, despair, discontent and bitterness, everything became clear to them at once. With that one look, Elphaba and Glinda felt their souls merge together again after so long apart and they remembered it all. In that one look, an entire lifetime of information was traded. Elphaba could see parties in magnificent ballrooms. She could smell heavy perfume and bittersweet wine. She could feel the whirling atmosphere scooping her up and tossing her around like a sailor helpless to the wrath of the sea. She could taste all the sour lies Glinda's mouth had ever told. All the honeyed words and high-pitched notes of song, all wrapped up in an undercurrent of anger and vengeance. She could hear Morrible's baritone voice, and the Wizard's soft-voiced yet hard-hearted commands against Animals, and all the other snobby voices that would always scare Glinda back into her place whenever their icy tones were turned on her.

Meanwhile, Glinda could see blood and battle. Flashing lights through the darkness, that were either rays of hope, or gunfire. She could smell charred earth, and rotting cadavers. Animal and human alike, she could see them collapse and taste the tangy iron of their spilled blood in her mouth. She could feel the smoke wrapping itself into her lungs and throat. It was more rancid than any cologne Glinda had ever smelled before. She could feel the sharp sting of bullets, and of pain and fear and rejection and failure. She could hear screaming and crying. All of it, everything! And at last, Glinda understood. And so did Elphaba. Suddenly, all of their doubts had gone away. Only understanding and grief remained.

"I'm limited..." Elphaba whispered sadly, knowing what she'd just put her true love through. "Just look at me," she insisted. "I'm limited." And then the two shared their final farewell before having one last kiss goodbye.

 _I have been changed for good._ Those words were sung verbally and telepathically, but it was the telepathic link that showed more than what mere notes or sounds ever could. Instead, as they sang those words, Elphaba and Glinda both saw a lifetime of pain, joy, unity and separation, all wrapped up into six little words. They could see hands being held, dances being shared, arguments and bickering. They could see tears and grief, they could see joy and love. They could see forgiveness, and a hope for a future together someday. Those visions they shared as they sang one last love song goodbye did more than what any musical score alone could ever even hope of achieving.

Then their link severed. It did not just fray or fade away. It broke. It cut. Just like smashing a window or cutting a string, it was sharp and quick and final. Worst of all, Glinda felt it happen too. And it was pure agony. She felt the burn of the water as it dissolved her skin. She felt the terror of one who was dying alone, and she felt the grief one who was losing a beloved Soulmate. She could feel the darkness settling in as her body turned to mush on the ground. She could see a lifetime of opportunity slipping away with the last strands of her consciousness. Then it was over. Well and truly, it was over. There simply was no more. Not a buzz, nor a hum, nor a flicker. For the first time since before Glinda had met Elphaba, her mind was totally dark and quiet. It was an abyss, a hole in her soul, and she knew it would never truly be filled again.

**AN: This is personally my favorite Soulmate prompt, the telepathic link, just because I think it's cool, but tell me that "For Good" wouldn't be infinitely better, stronger and sadder if they had shared visions and emotions instead of just melodies and harmonies. The mere thought of the portrayal of "For Good" with a telepathic link makes me tear up. No joke. I'm a big baby. LOL.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: This is personally my favorite Soulmate prompt, the telepathic link, just because I think it's cool, but tell me that "For Good" wouldn't be infinitely better, stronger and sadder if they had shared visions and emotions instead of just melodies and harmonies. The mere thought of the portrayal of "For Good" with a telepathic link makes me tear up. No joke. I'm a big baby. LOL.


	6. Spirit Animal

Elphaba, in the privacy of her bedroom, removed her robe to look at her chest. She wasn't looking for any signs of physical maturation because she didn't care a whit about that. Instead, she was looking at the little mark right over her heart. Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the little mark was some sort of animal, but no matter how hard she tried to figure out what kind of animal it was, she could never truly tell. It seemed like, the harder she tried to figure it out, the blurrier the image would become. It was literally impossible to guess what the animal was.

But even though Elphaba knew by now that she would not be able to decipher this little mark, that did not stop her from trying. Instead, even still today, she would stare at the little mark for hours and try to guess what it was. Was it a dog? Were those legs she saw? Or wait... was it some kind of fish? Because the legs were starting to look like fins. Or maybe it was a bird! The fins on the fish looked like... Oh, wait, no, maybe it was an insect of some kind? And she could go on like this for hours.

But to her, what was even more exciting than the marking itself was what it symbolized. It was no ordinary birthmark or tattoo. Instead, it was supposed to be her Spirit Animal. The thing her soul would manifest into physically the day she met her Soulmate. That was why she could not decipher the tattoo alone. She needed to find her Soulmate to help her figure out what it truly was and help bring it to life. Until then, it was only a dormant part of her soul, still up for and open to change. But once she found her Soulmate, then the mark would settle down into something clear, and Elphaba would finally get to see just what her Spirit Animal was.

Oh, how Elphaba longed to find somebody with a matching Spirit Animal so she could have a friend to talk to! One of the older boys on her block had, recently, found his Soulmate, and his tattoo had since revealed itself to be a mighty eagle. Now, that eagle followed his Soulmate everywhere, acting as her guide and guard through life. In her return, her own Spirit Animal, a falcon, would follow him around all the time. Elphaba wanted nothing more than to find a love that powerful and strong that it caused her very soul to split in half just so that her Soulmate would always carry around a little piece of her! But she had yet to make any progress in that area.

Now, of course, one could not simply go checking other people's chests for markings. Instead, the way one figured out who their Soulmate was, was through physical touch. The first time someone ever came into contact with their Soulmate, both of their chests would glow, and that would be the undeniable signal. The Spirit Animals would take a bit longer to emerge, but the glowing light from the markings would be the first sign. Everything else leading up to the physical manifestation of the Spirit Animals into the world would follow suit.

Elphaba just needed to come into contact with that special someone first. But it wasn't looking too good for her. Not many people were too thrilled about the idea of touching someone like her anyways. For one, she had green skin. For another, she was quite temperamental. But even so, just seeing that Spirit Animal, though she had no idea what it was, gave Elphaba hope. And little did she know that her Soulmate was out there right now, hiding under her bedsheets and eagerly looking at her own Spirit Animal marking, thoughts wandering the same path as Elphaba's.

About three years later, finding a Soulmate had become the last thing on Elphaba's mind. First, she had to deal with the natural stressors and pressures that came with being a college student. Then, she had to contend with the fact that, even here in this place chock-full of open minds, she was still being bullied for her green skin. And lastly, but most importantly, she had to deal with her snobby, snotty monster of a roommate.

"Ugh, this is my roommate?" the girl, Galinda, huffed in disgust, squinting rudely up at the lanky green girl standing beside her.

"I know, I don't want to be paired with a girl who has a poodle on her head either," Elphaba shot back, taking a dig at Galinda's puffy gold curls. Galinda gave an outraged, indignant cry of disgust before stomping off with her pointy little nose high in the air. The two proceeded to spend a large chunk of their first semester together by staying as far away from each other as possible.

But then, as the months rolled by, a friendship slowly developed between the two. Following a party, a prank and an apology, Galinda began to show the first signs of respect for her green-skinned roommate. In return, Elphaba gave the little blond the very first smile she'd ever given to anyone in all her days here at Shiz University. It was a lovely smile and Galinda felt her heart melt a little at the sight of it. She decided, then, that she had made a very good choice in finally trusting her heart and sticking up for the green girl against all of her many tormentors. But the fun did not stop there. Instead, because all of this had happened at a party, it didn't take Galinda long to ask Elphaba to dance.

"May I?" she offered her hand, and although Elphaba still looked wary, she only needed to see the sincerity in Galinda's blue eyes to understand.

"You may," she replied, then she slipped her hand into Galinda's. Immediately, through the darkness of the dance floor, two bright lights began to gleam, both of them emanating from Elphaba and Galinda's chest.

"Oh. My. Oz." everyone else on the dancefloor was just as amazed.

Several months later, Elphaba and Galinda's relationship had picked up a lot of steam. Although the first couple of weeks had been rather awkward and embarrassing (the two had only just stopped hating each other a few hours ago after all), their utter intrigue with the fact that they were Soulmates gave them the courage to try and pursue a romantic relationship and, as the days rolled by, they became more and more comfortable around each other. Soon, their days of loathing were entirely a thing of the past and it was no secret to anyone that they were dating.

"But do you ever think that we could take it further?" Galinda asked one night after they'd been together for about six months. Once again, some of that early awkwardness returned, but Elphaba swallowed it down, determined to be the best Soulmate she could possibly be. She gave her consent and, after making sure that Galinda was really sure about this as well, neither of them needed any further incentive to just go for it.

As the two crossed this important and intimate milestone together for the first time, their chests began to glow once more. The glow was very dim this time, but once it stopped, both of them broke apart in surprise and confusion. They could feel something moving across their bodies.

"The Spirit Animals!" Galinda was the first to understand as she saw a small thing darting down Elphaba's arm. Elphaba came to the exact same realization about half a second later when she saw something dance across Galinda's face.

"Sweet Oz!" she murmured in amazement and fascination. They came back together again, bodies pressed tightly together. In time, their respective Spirit Animal markings crossed over and began to dance with and chase one another back and forth between Elphaba and Galinda.

"Woah!" Galinda breathed as she felt Elphaba's Spirit Animal run onto her arm through her and Elphaba's linked hands. Galinda's Spirit Animal chased playfully after Elphaba's across both of their arms...

Once again, needing no further incentive or instruction, the two humans possessing the Spirit Animals quickly returned to their session. Their skin occasionally tingled as their marks romped around together, from body to body. Now, though, neither girl remembered where exactly their Spirit Animals was. Sometimes they could be seen on Elphaba's shoulder, sometimes on Galinda's cheek, sometimes on Elphaba's side, Galinda's stomach, both their legs and their chests. As Elphaba and Galinda's bodies intertwined, rolling together between the sheets, so too did the bodies of their respective Spirit Animals, running back and forth between their owners' bodies. It was a very good night.

The next day, the girls woke up intertwined in Galinda's bed with two cats sitting beside them. The Spirit Animals had come to life.

"That was fun," Galinda sighed happily as memories of last night washed over her. Elphaba chuckled in agreement and she turned to see their Spirit Animals grinning at each other. Then Elphaba's Spirit Cat leaned over and kissed Galinda's Spirit Cat and Elphaba did likewise to Galinda.

As the days continued on from there, neither girl ever went anywhere without the other's Spirit Animal. Galinda could often be seen attending parties and bars with a fluffy, scruffy brown cat sitting protectively at her heels. Meanwhile, Elphaba always had a sweet, beautiful, dappled cat (orange with brown spots), weaving lovingly in and out of her long, lanky legs. Then, whenever Elphaba and Galinda were together again, their respective Spirit Cats would crawl all over both of them, switching back and forth between Elphaba and Galinda until it was impossible to tell whose Spirit Animal was whose anymore. One moment, Elphaba's big brown cat would be on her lap, then it would be nibbling Galinda's leg. One moment, Galinda's rusty, dappled cat would be leaning on her shoulder. The next, it would be trying to nudge its way into Elphaba's arms.

"Oz! She's just as clingy as you!" Elphaba teased once, holding up her arm to show that Galinda's Spirit Cat had since dug her claws so deeply into Elphaba's sleeve that Elphaba could lift up her arm without the cat falling off.

"Speak for yourself!" Galinda shot back in amusement. "Yours has the same awful sense of humor!" she jerked her thumb over to where Elphaba's big brown cat had since started clawing at Galinda's bedpost. Even though these cats were far from ordinary cats, they still had typical mannerisms that would manifest in behaviors such as this from time to time. But that was ok, neither girl minded it much.

But in time, something came between the two Soulmates and their Spirit Animals. Elphaba had tried to incite rebellion against the leader of their country and, as a result, she was forced to run away before she could be arrested. Or even executed! Glinda's beautiful Bengal had run obediently after her that day, even though Glinda herself had been too afraid to go with Elphaba.

"Come with me!" Elphaba had pleaded, but Glinda could only shake her head. But even though Glinda stayed behind, her Spirit Animal had hopped right into Elphaba's arms and nestled itself into the collar of her cloak. But since Glinda's Spirit Cat was going, this meant that Elphaba's was staying. Even though Elphaba, herself, literally could not stay there safely for a single second longer, her Spirit Animal opted to say behind and protect Glinda since Elphaba, herself, could not do so any longer. So that day, after Elphaba had made her grand escape, Glinda left with only a shaggy brown cat to keep her company. It ambled after her with its ears and tail low with sadness. Glinda felt the same way.

But although this consolation of having each other's Spirit Animals was nice at first, after a few years of such total separation, it became all too clear that the Spirit Animals were not doing half as well as they should.

"You poor dear!" Elphaba crooned sadly at Glinda's Spirit Cat. That cat was the only thing she looked upon with any sort of kindness anymore. Although the thing was still deeply devoted to her, just like its foolish owner, the cat looked so perpetually tired and sad. Elphaba could sense it that the cat was growing weary from being away from its own other half for so long now. But what could Elphaba do? It wasn't safe for either of them to show their faces again! So all either of them could do was remain hidden. And miserable. And lonely. It worried Elphaba greatly that, one day, Glinda's Spirit Cat might die or fade away entire from the grief. But it wasn't like Elphaba's own Spirit Animal was doing much better...

"Come on, come on," Glinda tried to wake up Elphaba's Spirit Animal. The cat "mrrrroww"ed softly at her, eyes full of unspeakable pain and wisdom. This really was no ordinary cat, and Glinda knew it. It was suffering from the kind of ailment no normal vet or doctor could ever fix. It was missing Glinda's Spirit Animal. Glinda couldn't disagree. She missed it as well. And the green girl she knew that it was protecting.

But then at last, sweet relief came to all four of the grieving creatures. Through sheer luck and chance alone, the four managed to reunite.

"Oh, Elphie!" Glinda whimpered into her Soulmate's dark hair as they shared their last hug. Even though it was a reunion, it was not a happy one, because all four of them knew that it would be over all too soon and, this time, the following separation would be permanent.

"I'm so, so, sorry, my love," Elphaba replied softly, unable to say any more than that in case she broke down entirely. She only held Glinda as tight as she could, breathing in her scent and her warmth, wanting one last happy memory to cling to before she died. Meanwhile, the two Spirit Cats were sharing a similar dance of sorrow. Glinda's was nuzzling Elphaba's and purring while Elphaba's was mewling sadly as it licked Glinda's. Then, a loud crash tore the couples apart. It was time.

"Hide!" Elphaba whispered to Glinda and the Spirit Animals. But while Elphaba's cat leapt dutifully into Glinda's arms, Glinda's cat only ran after Elphaba and Glinda didn't have a chance to catch it before she was forced to hide. Two agonized wails echoed the castle just a few seconds later.

When Glinda finally found the courage to go and see what happened, all that remained was a green puddle and the pelt of Glinda's Spirit Animal. The poor dear had done its job so well that it had followed Elphaba into the afterlife. This left Glinda alone again, with only Elphaba's Spirit Animal for company. But as heavy and painful as this all was, as Glinda buried her nose into Elphaba's Spirit Animal's fluffy brown pet, a bittersweet smile spread across her face. Although her Soulmate was dead, her Soulmate's love for her was not. That was why Elphaba's Spirit Animal was still here, even though Elphaba, herself, was gone. The cat licked Glinda with a sandpaper tongue, purring soothingly at her. This cat was Elphaba's last consolation to Glinda, her final protection, her spirit guide and guardian angel, which would stay with her for the rest of her life.

"Thank you Elphie," Glinda whispered, a weak smile on her teary face. Then she kissed the cat's fur as they mourned together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Here's the spirit animal AU, which is probably my second favorite. 
> 
> Also, yes, I subverted the trope a bit. When you die, your Animal lives on to comfort the Soulmate you left behind. Meanwhile, your Soulmate's Animal dies so that it can follow you into the afterlife. That way, even when you are apart, you're not alone. 
> 
> And I chose cats for several reasons. 
> 
> 1) Elphaba and Glinda both have very cattish personalities. 
> 
> 2) Cats are associated with witches.
> 
> 3) Every queer female I know is nuts for cats. I'm a dog person, but, minus me, every other queer girl I know loves cats and has like four.
> 
> Also! Quick request when you read this! Please don't see Elphaba and Glinda's cats as a stereotypical black cat/white cat pairing (or green cat/gold cat). That's too cliché, predictable and boring. 
> 
> To me, Elphaba's Spirit Cat is a brown Maine Coon
> 
> And Glinda's is a Bengal cat. 
> 
> I'm not doing the lame, "Elphaba has a black or green cat while Glinda has a white or gold one". We're doing something more creative and new here.


	7. Defying the System

Elphaba lived in a world where people were born with the name of their Soulmate written upon their wrists. The name on hers read "Fiyero Tigelaar". For 18 long years, she would stare at that name and wonder. Who was this man? And what was he like? Would he be friendly? Or would he be repulsed when he realized that his Soulmate had green skin? Would he be understanding? Or grudging? And what did he look like? What color was his skin? What sort of things did he like and dislike? Even though Elphaba didn't usually like to ponder these sorts of things, just because pondering often led to hoping which led to disappointment, but a Soulmate was monumental enough that she couldn't help it.

But fast-forward those 18 years and the answers she received to her questions were not at all what she had expected. Maybe she hadn't had any clue what this "Fiyero" person would be like, but an arrogant and ignorant Winkie Prince was not at all what she had in mind...

"The name's Fiyero Tigelaar!" he had introduced himself with a very grandiose air, practically shoving his hand into Elphaba's face with a cocky, prideful, self-absorbed smile. "And may I inquire as to who your royal greenness is?" he asked her.

And all Elphaba had needed was to hear that mocking tone mixed with that self-assured smirk to know that she would never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever accept him as her Soulmate. Even she deserved better than this! What did it matter what was written on her arms? Or in the stars? Or in the law? Screw fate! Screw destiny! She was going to blaze her own path! Write her own story! Even if it ended in tragedy and left her forever alone, it would be better than saddling herself with this frat-boy monstrosity who held no respect for her at all! This was unacceptable!

From then on, Elphaba lived her life according to her newfound goals. She never ever told Fiyero her name, for she knew that if she did, he would either try to force her to be his Soulmate, or he'd reject her outright. She didn't know which would hurt more. So she took the third route and ignored him. She shook his hand, but refused to give him a name. That first interaction was their last. Instead, she became bent upon living a life alone. Maybe once upon a time she had thought that Soulmates were romantic, but the longer she thought about it, the creepier and sicker the whole setup really felt to her. It was almost like an arranged marriage, of sorts. Even if the Soulmate System had a 100% success and satisfaction rate, there was still something sort of sad about realizing that such a large part of life was already preordained. No choice, no freedom, just a name already written in the stars. Maybe to some, such a setup was convenient, but to Elphaba, there was something quite demeaning about it all. She was a mature human adult! She could make her own choices in life! She didn't need some prophecy to tell her how to live!

"I think I'll try defying the system!" the green girl muttered to herself one night as she covered up Fiyero's name with green paint to match her skin tone. She was going to start with a clean slate. A nameless arm. Good riddance!

"What system?" a voice beside Elphaba piped up. It was Elphaba's little blond roommate, Galinda Upland. Elphaba was on guard at once. Even though she and Galinda had since entered a sort of truce, the green girl still did not like or trust the blond entirely. And she especially didn't feel comfortable with confessing such an intimate and treacherous thought. However, Elphaba finally decided to push aside her first instinct of silence and tell Galinda anyway. If she really wanted their little truce to blossom into the friendship it had the potential to reach, they needed to start somewhere. Besides, knowing Galinda, she would only be half-listening anyway. This meant that Elphaba could tell her anything she wanted to and Galinda would likely not even hear it! Who better to tell such a deep secret to than someone like that?

But once again, Galinda managed to surprise Elphaba. Instead of ignoring or misunderstanding Elphaba, Galinda had actually paid very close attention to Elphaba's tirade against the Soulmate System. She even sounded interested in the whole idea as well!

"Hmmm, I think I like that idea," Galinda said when Elphaba finally admitted to wanting to live a life without a Soulmate.

"What? Really?" Elphaba hardly dared to believe that Galinda was actually taking her seriously, but she only needed to take one look into those blue eyes to know that Galinda was being dead serious. She really meant it when she said she liked Elphaba's ideas about defying the system.

"But why?" the green girl was curious. Of all the people to want to defy the system, Galinda was not someone she would've suspected. She was far too bright, bubbly, happy, chatty and pretty to be the kind of girl who would willingly oppose the idea of a Soulmate. And yet, she did! And with almost as much vehemence as Elphaba! But the moment Elphaba tried to ask her why, Galinda suddenly looked very uncomfortable and she refused to answer. Elphaba had the good sense not to push any further.

But life had a funny way of changing totally around in the most surprising of ways, as Elphaba should've known through her own unexpected friendship with Galinda. As the year rolled on, Elphaba finally got the chance to know Fiyero a bit better and he proved to be a fairly decent guy, once she got past all the airheaded layers and walls surrounding his true self. She began to see a sweeter, softer, smarter side to the Winkie Prince and she began to realize that he was far more than what he appeared to be. He was actually really charming and kind! It had only been Elphaba's own misjudgments and Fiyero's emotional walls that had created a rift between them earlier. But as the two began to spend more and more time together, those misjudgments and walls crumbled away.

"I think we might be Soulmates," he said to her one day, too shy and too nervous to meet her eyes.

"What makes you think that?" Elphaba asked, heart pounding in her chest.

"I know your name is Elphaba Thropp," he replied, then he rolled up his sleeve. The jig was up, and Elphaba mirrored the movement. She rubbed the green paint off her arm as she rolled up her own sleeve. Fiyero's eyes widened in awe when he saw his name written upon her wrist.

From then on, the two began a slow and uneasy relationship. Fiyero had been the one to push for it, just like Elphaba had suspected he might, but he had been so kind and gentle that Elphaba hadn't felt coerced or guilted into it at all. Instead, it had all happened quite naturally, over time. Fiyero spent more and more time around Elphaba and began to show a better and better man than what Elphaba had first expected and, in time, Elphaba realized that she might actually have feelings for the Winkie Prince after all. And from the way he looked at her, she could sense that the feeling was mutual. Both of them had proven to the other that they were far more than what they appeared to be.

But even so, for as much as Elphaba adored Fiyero, there was always a tiny hint of doubt in the very darkest corners of her mind. All through her relationship with Fiyero, there had been hesitation and reservation. For all of the love Elphaba felt for Fiyero, there was also one lasting disconnect between the two of them that no amount of romance was able to heal. So, for years, even though Elphaba and Fiyero did begin to date, Elphaba had never been 100% with it. She'd hit 99%, but that remaining 1% never came. For that reason, when graduation rolled around and Fiyero finally, actually, proposed to Elphaba, Elphaba said no.

"What? Why?" Fiyero asked, sounding genuinely surprised and hurt. And maybe even a little scared.

"Because I don't really love you," Elphaba replied. There were tears in her eyes, but she was able to explain. "I mean, I do love you, but I don't think I love you in that way. I don't think I love you enough to want to spend my whole life as your wife. I really am sorry, and I do believe that you will make a great husband one day, but it won't be to me. I hope you can forgive me..."

Elphaba's apology had been sincere and passionate, but her rejection had still hurt Fiyero worse than anything else ever could have. All he heard was Elphaba refusing to marry him and, after about three years of dating, this was a hard thing for him to cope with. He had genuinely loved her, and to hear her saying no to him was a devastating blow. He stood up slowly, getting back off of his bended knee. He threw his engagement ring to the ground, and walked away without another sound. Elphaba watched him leave, tears still falling from her eyes, but watching him go made her feel relieved, as heartless as this made her sound.

"I'm so sorry, Fiyero," she told his retreating figure, but even if he had heard her, it wouldn't have made him feel any better at all.

When word of what Elphaba had done spread around the campus, it didn't take long for her to become worse than a monster in the eyes of her fellow students. Even though they had all just graduated, they somehow managed to make Elphaba's last couple days on campus into a living nightmare, worse than what she had faced when she first arrived four years earlier. But worst of all, this mass-punishment did not end when Elphaba finally left campus. Instead, word managed to reach the public sphere as well and soon, society as a whole began to despise and disparage her. Her name grew in infamy across the land as she made all sorts of news and gossip articles, shows and radios talking endlessly about how she had heartlessly, monstrously rejected her Soulmate. Her one little "no" had been the spark for a country-wide revolution and it was not going to be over quickly or quietly. There was no place in the entire country she could go where she did not face the severe consequences of her actions.

Or at least, there was almost no place she could go. But that was where Galinda came in. After Elphaba had first made it public that she was dating Fiyero, her relationship with Galinda had soured slightly. Although Galinda still called Elphaba her friend, the way she treated Elphaba told a very different story. Instead, she had become increasingly cold, distant and bitter towards the green girl, and Elphaba never fully understood why. She had tried to ask on numerous occasions, but Galinda would only give her a scoff and a glare before muttering something under her breath and stalking away again. Elphaba initially chalked it up to the fact that Galinda must've been jealous, still being single while Elphaba had managed to find and enter a relationship with her Soulmate.

What really tore a rift in their friendship, however, was one particular fight they had upon the night of Elphaba's one-year anniversary with Fiyero. Elphaba argued with Galinda that she really did love Fiyero, and she deserved to be happy with him. Meanwhile, Galinda argued that Elphaba was only lying to herself. She had made a promise about defying the system, yet here she was now, succumbing to that very same system! In Galinda's eyes, Elphaba was like a traitor, turning her back on her own revolutionary cause to become the very thing she used to so despise. Elphaba did not disagree there, but she still argued that no matter what her decisions in the past may have been, she still deserved a life with the person that she loved, Soulmate or not. She deserved a happy life with Fiyero because she wanted it, not just because his name was on her wrist. But Galinda simply could not see it that way and, for a little while, their friendship went completely dark.

But the moment Elphaba started getting death-threats for what she had done, Galinda wasted no time in stepping back up to the plate. She offered to give Elphaba a safe place to stay, and she had been totally sincere in this offer. This was no joke or trick at all!

"I know we've had our fights in the past," she said. "But your life is in danger now and I am not just going to stand idly by until someone takes it! Let me help you! Let me hide you! I know a place where you can lay low until all of this blows over!" And with no other choice, Elphaba agreed.

For the next few years, it was just Elphaba and Galinda, alone together against the world. But they didn't just hide and wait for all of it to pass on over, instead, even from their hiding spots, they continued to spread this doctrine of choice over destiny. They continued to encourage anyone and everyone who would listen that they should go out and choose their Soulmates for themselves, and not just rely upon some random name that happened to be inscribed upon their skin from birth. It was still a very dangerous and revolutionary message to be spreading, but it was message both Elphaba and Galinda believed to be worth spreading. Their efforts did not go to waste. On the contrary, even though it took a while, their ideas finally started to catch momentum. Even though the vast majority of Oz was still beholden to the Soulmate system, a large chunk of the country had since started to form a rebellious minority with Elphaba and Galinda's doctrine as their very way of life. It was still very rare to see a married couple that weren't also Soulmates, but at least it was starting to happen. Social changes such as this always had a very slow, shaky start.

Then at last, almost a decade after Fieryo's proposal, Elphaba received a letter from him. It was one asking for her forgiveness. It was also an apology for what he had done. And attached to the letter was a picture of a beautiful young lady named Sarima. The picture was titled "My Wife". Elphaba burned the letter and picture immediately after seeing them both. She still wasn't quite sure how to feel about Fiyero. Although she was glad he had managed to find a happy ending, she still felt bad for causing him so much trouble and heartache all those years ago. Yet she still did not regret her decision to say no to him. After all, her happiness was just as important as his.

"You made the right decision," a voice from behind Elphaba said as Elphaba watched the letter burn. It was Galinda. Sweet, faithful Galinda. For all these years, she had remained ever at Elphaba's side, their past "breakup" over Fiyero long since forgotten in their minds. Elphaba couldn't help but smile when she felt Galinda come up and hug her from behind. She owed that girl her life.

"Thanks," she said, turning around to return the hug properly.

"Always," Galinda replied happily, nuzzling Elphaba's chest as they continued to embrace.

But once they broke apart, Elphaba began to cry. 10 years of self-doubt and self-loathing began to leak out of her eyes and she began to question everything that she had ever done, starting for the very moment she first read "Fiyero Tigelaar" on her wrist. But, just like always, Galinda remained by Elphaba's side through it all. Form her very first tears to her very last, Galinda was right there to help her through.

"Oh, why, Galinda?" Elphaba asked at last, sniffling and wiping her eyes. "Why have you stayed by me for so long? You're the most faithful friend anyone could ever ask for. But what did I do to deserve such unconditional love?"

"You gave me hope for my own sad, miserable, lonely little existence," Galinda replied with a sad smile. "That's a debt I can never repay."

"Wait, what?" Elphaba blinked away her final tears, sniffling in confusion. Galinda only gave Elphaba another sad smile before showing Elphaba her wrist. No name. And Galinda even washed her arm off to prove she wasn't wearing any concealer. No name. Galinda had no Soulmate name.

"But... but... that's impossible! It's only supposed to be a rumor!" Elphaba breathed.

"Not for me, it wasn't," Galinda replied painfully. "For me, it was a nightmare I couldn't ever wake up from, because it followed me around every single day of my life..." then she told her story.

There were rumors of occurrences such as this. Wrists who never bore the name of a Soulmate. Those people, in the eyes of society, had been dubbed as broken, or damaged, or somehow flawed or guilty. Even though no human life could control the Soulmate system, to see a nameless wrist was to see the utmost shame a human could possess. It was considered an ultimate form of cosmic punishment. No one knew the reason why some people were born without Soulmate names, they just knew that it happened every once in a blue moon and it was not a good thing at all.

Galinda had been one of those rare and almost mythical few whom fate had left without a Soulmate. It had been the ultimate stigma, the ultimate shame. It was a secret she'd hidden from the world. Even her own parents. Of course, they had not failed to realize that their daughter was born without a name, but when she was old enough to understand what a bad thing this was, she quickly invented a name of her own and wrote it on her arm. Every day without fail, she wrote the same fake name on her wrist until the whole world was convinced that it was true and she had just been a late bloomer. But that was why Galinda never found her Soulmate. Because she'd made it all up.

But then Elphaba came along, strong as any storm and just as wild. She had bravely insisted that they try defying the system, and standing up for their own choices instead of just lying down and taking what fate did, or didn't, give to them. These words had resonated deeply with Galinda. This idea that maybe there was hope for her after all, even though she had been born an anomaly, gave her so much hope and strength. It was why she had fallen so deeply in love with Elphaba, and her cause. That was also why she'd been so devastated when Elphaba began to date Fiyero. In that one little action, Elphaba hadn't just failed her own cause, she had failed Galinda as well. And Elphaba's choice to unite with her Soulmate had been nothing but a cruel, burning reminder to Galinda that no one was free from the system and all would succumb to its wonders eventually. Even the most rebellious among them could not resist the temptation of a Soulmate, of a perfect other half. It that wasn't torture for a girl without a Soulmate, what would be?

So to Galinda, Elphaba's choice to be with Fiyero after all was only a mocking reminder that Galinda might to ever get a happy ending after all. Anomalies did not lead normal lives. They did not get happy endings. They did not find true loves. She was a freak, an outcast, an oddity, and Elphaba's decision to turn away from her own deeply-held beliefs in favor of hooking up with her Soulmate only hammered this idea even deeper into Galinda's already-broken mind. Was this really it? Was she really cursed to be alone forever?

But then, when Elphaba turned down Fiyero's proposal, Galinda's hope for herself had returned. That was why she had willingly come back to Elphaba when Elphaba was standing against all of those death-threats. The fear Galinda felt from those death-threats were nothing on the excitement she felt when she realized that Elphaba might not have been so ready to surrender her cause as it originally seemed. The two had been together ever since and Galinda had fallen deeper and deeper in love with Elphaba with each passing day. And now?

"All my life, I bore this dark secret. I believed that I would never find love, but you changed all of that the moment you told me you were going to try defying the system. You gave me hope and love, even if you didn't know it. I fell for you the moment you finished your theory about how a happy and loving life was still possible, Soulmate or not. Now if I may, I would very much like to ask for your hand in marriage..."

It was a day of firsts for both Elphaba and Galinda. It was the first time Galinda had ever confessed her dark secret, and it was the first time she'd ever been able to kiss Elphaba and it was the first time Elphaba had ever said yes to a marriage proposal.

More years passed and Galinda and Elphaba got married, just like they said they would. Sure, their union faced some backlash early on, but because it was becoming increasingly common to see spouses who were not Soulmates, Elphaba and Galinda also had a lot of supporters to protect them too. And, in time, Elphaba even finally got the chance to have a proper farewell with Fiyero. True, their relationship would never be the same again, but they were at least able to see each other's faces one last time, and leave on positive note instead of a passive-aggressive suggestion by way of family photos. Neither girl had ever felt so happy or free before.

"Thank Oz," Galinda sighed as Fiyero left Elphaba with the first smile she'd seen from him in years.

"Well, even if he still hated us, I wouldn't care. I have you," Elphaba pecked Galinda's cheek and earned a giggle in reply. They were entering the third year of a very happy marriage and the 13th since they had first run away together. But no matter how many days passed, none of it really mattered to either of the two women. Instead, all that mattered was each other. It was not the name written upon their wrists that mattered, but the name written upon their hearts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: This is the last of the Soulmate series for now. But if anyone else has any other prompts or ideas, tell me and I'll write them. 
> 
> Time for me to rant:
> 
> I personally love the idea of Soulmates, but I also think it's a very stupid and defeatist sort of system. Love isn't so simple as having one exact person who is meant to be your One And Only True Love. And the very concept of having and finding a Soulmate is highly "predestination" and that is a doctrine I despise. It takes away the freedom of choice and the reality of the complexity of love. 
> 
> So this whole fic is a critique on that idea. Our Special Someone is neither promised nor planned. It is someone we find through time, trial, error and effort. Not magic or fate. Besides, the way Soulmates are written right now is sort of exclusive. What if someone doesn't want to get married? Or doesn't want to have a Soulmate? Or wants to have one that isn't a romantic partner? Or wants to have more than one? What happens to the people who wouldn't find joy in the type of system the Soulmate world operates on? 
> 
> But mostly, my beef is with the fact that Soulmates leave no room for error, chance or choice. It's just set in stone, and there's nothing you can do about it. How defeatist is that?! So I'm changing the story here. Gelphie is endgame, even when it's not supposed to be. :P
> 
> And just one more thing, the thing I hate most about the Soulmate prompts are the ones that talk about how tragic it would be if you were to "marry the wrong person" and realize only towards the end of your (or their) life that they weren't your Soulmate after all. Let me tell you why that's crap. If you managed to stay with that person long enough to make a marriage last a life time, they were NOT the wrong person. Even if they weren't your "Soulmate" if you were able to marry and live with them for years and years, that should override any and everything else. Don't give me that crap about realizing how you wasted your life with the wrong person (non-Soulmate). If you lasted your whole life with them, it was not a waste, and they might as well be your Soulmate, or you wouldn't have lasted so long together. 
> 
> Besides, imagine how much that would hurt, to love someone for DECADES and then hear them say, "Wait! You weren't the right one for me! We're getting a divorce so I can find my True Love! Bye! No regrets! Won't miss ya! Gotta find my real Other Half!" 
> 
> Or imagine being the other person and saying, "Oh! You weren't actually my Soulmate! Oops! Guess I suddenly don't love you anymore! And to think I wasted years of my life with you, instead of the one I was "supposed" to get with!" 
> 
> Like seriously, WTF?! 
> 
> (Sorry guys, but Soulmate prompts like that rub me the wrong way. I do admit that people CAN change their mind after marriage, but that's not my issue. My issue is with the prompts that imply that just HEARING that you two weren't supposed to be together after all is what causes the split. I would understand if it were something more realistic, but just hearing that you two aren't actually Soulmates should NOT be what makes you want to file for divorce. Unless it is a satire fic that's critiquing our marital system today as we know it.)


End file.
